To Deceive is Ninja
by medicine seller
Summary: Sometimes the burden of a ninja is to carry your betrayal towards loved ones for the rest of your life. Hinata accepts Dumbledore's mission request, knowing that she will crush the wizarding world with her deceit by the end of Hogwarts' term.
1. Mission Start

**Chapter One: **_Mission Start_

* * *

One day, right before the end of Christmas Holiday, a young woman arrived at Hogwarts.

No doubt she stood out like a sore thumb. She looked about seventeen and was of Asian descent, a rarity among the Hogwarts population. She was quite pretty, with her long, indigo hair, agreeable face, and pale, unblemished skin. Her clothing did not fit the standard among wizards and witches and she had an interesting band tied around her neck with a mark engraved into the metal. Yet what was most talked about her were her pupil-less eyes. They were quite unnerving to look at, and many thought of her to be blind, but she moved around just fine.

Those who stayed over for the break had seen the stranger passing through the halls or observed her chatting with Professor Dumbledore. She spent most of her time exploring the castle. She would stop here and there to talk to the portraits, fascination etched upon her face while she contemplated the magic behind moving paintings. To anyone who stared unashamedly at her opalescent eyes in the hallways, she gave a small, embarrassed smile. Other than these brief encounters, she made no effort to interact with anyone besides the headmaster and the professors, whom she made small talk with while eating at the staff table.

* * *

A knock on the door pulled Hinata away from her mission scroll. Sensing Dumbledore, she quickly made her way to the door and invited him in.

"Ah, thank you," he said politely.

The powerful wizard briefly scanned the room, eyes stopping at the document and scraps of filled parchment sitting on the table.

"I see that you're working hard, Miss Hyuuga," he chuckled.

Her face gave a surprised look and she scrambled to clean up the mess. "I-I-I'm sorry, Dumbledore-san. It must be strange, having to see this even though you know it's about your-"

Dumbledore cut her off. "Miss Hyuuga, there's no need to talk about this depressing subject right now. It's almost time for the New Year's feast and we must keep a happy face for the returning students. Come, let us walk to the Great Hall together," he said gently.

"O-Oh. A-al-alright," Hinata stuttered, a little embarrassed by her unnecessary reaction. Still, she organized the table, put away the important papers into a chest by her bed and placed a seal over the clasp to ensure the safety of its contents.

Making sure that everything was alright, the kunoichi followed the headmaster out.

"I must mention that the students are quite interested by your mysterious arrival. Even those who arrived by train two hours ago now know of you. Don't let the stares and whispers bother you though, Miss Hyuuga."

Hinata blinked a few times. "Thank you for telling me, Dumbledore-san."

"My pleasure," he responded and added cryptically, "People tend to talk about things that they do not understand."

* * *

Dumbledore and Hinata took their respective seats at the staff table, with Hinata two places away from the old man.

The headmaster was not lying when he said that people had been talking about her. Before today, she had been aware of it but easily ignored the few whispers and silent gazes, as there weren't many students at Hogwarts to participate in the gossip.

Now, as the students followed their Heads of Houses into the Hall, Hinata noticed that many stopped their conversations with each other and started looking towards the head table. The whispers permeated through the dining hall and Hinata could not help but overhear some of what they were saying.

_"-look, must be her up there-"_

_"Her eyes, they're so strange, like-"_

_"-can't even imagine why she would be here."_

The Heads of Houses took their places at the staff table, with McGonagall taking up the empty seat between Dumbledore and Hinata. Once everyone settled into their places, the headmaster stood up and held out a hand to quiet the students of their gossip.

"Welcome back, everyone, and I hope you all had an enjoyable two-week break from your studies. Tomorrow, classes will begin again," he announced, followed by many groans, "but there is no need to talk about that right now. You all must be hungry so, without further delay, let's eat."

Dumbledore made a sweeping motion with his hands and hundreds of plates of food magically appeared in front of everyone. To the students and staff, this was nothing but to the one person who was not used to seeing this happen, it took her a while to stop staring at her plate in awe and start eating.

Hinata made polite conversation with the Head of Gryffindor House, who had inquired after her short time at Hogwarts and whether she had adjusted to this new, but temporary, life.

"Well enough, McGonagall-san. It amazes me what magic can do," Hinata answered as she cut her asparagus into manageable pieces.

"Suppose one's potential as a ninja can be translated into magic, or vice versa," McGonagall wondered aloud. "It would certainly be an interesting but powerful combination."

Hinata replied, "Certainly."

And with that, the conversation quickly ended and the professor turned left to converse with Dumbledore.

When most of the food had been eaten and the students quite satiated, the headmaster stood up again and cleared the plates with another wave of his hand. This immediately silenced the students, and they turned towards the front to listen to his speech.

The young kunoichi took this time to scan the Great Hall, spotting Harry Potter with his two friends with the Gryffindors. The elderly professor had mentioned these three a few times and had spoken of parts of Potter's history. She continued to stare at him, even after he seemed to have noticed her attention, eyes widening then scrutinizing with suspicion. He looked away first and returned his concentration to the speaker. Hinata did the same.

"Now that we have that cleared away," Hinata heard him say, "let me change the subject to our guest for the rest of the year, Miss Hinata Hyuuga. If you will, Miss Hyuuga, please introduce yourself to the students," he asked her.

"Hello everyone. My name is Hyuuga Hinata, but in your culture it would be Hinata Hyuuga, as one's family name is mentioned first where I'm from and last in yours. I am a ninja from the Land of Fire and I'm here on a mission that Dumbledore-san had requested my leader to fulfill. I was chosen among many to journey to Hogwarts, where I will be staying until the end of June. Please take good care of me until then," the Hyuuga said before bowing low in front of the crowd. Finished, she sat back down.

Unsurprisingly, the staff, excluding Dumbledore, and the rest of the Hall broke out into a loud discussion about what the kunoichi had just said.

Once again, Dumbledore quieted the hall after a few moments. "What Miss Hyuuga said was true. I hired her to accomplish something of utmost importance by the end of the year. Therefore, do not bother Miss Hyuuga about her mission, as it is classified. During this time, Miss Hyuuga will also be attending some classes so she can learn a little about magic and meet all of you before she departs."

"Now," he continued, "it is time for all of you to return to your dorms. Rest up for a wonderful tomorrow as classes will resume their normal schedules."

With that said, Hinata and the rest of the Hogwarts population returned to their rooms.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione tiredly climbed the Grand Staircase and passed through the Fat Lady's portrait with the rest of the Gryffindors. They stopped for a moment in the Common Room.

"What did you think of that Hinata-person, Harry?" Ron inquired, as he gave a great, big yawn.

The sixth-year stayed quiet for a second. "I'm not too sure. But I did catch her looking at me during Dumbledore's speech. Why do think that is?"

"Of course she was staring at you, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "You must be her mission. Dumbledore assigned her to protect you for the rest of the year."

Harry furrowed his brows in anger. "I definitely do not need protecting! Does Dumbledore not trust me enough? Besides, she looked like she needed a little protection herself. I can't imagine how she can be a ninja. She looks nothing like one!"

Ron patted his best friend's back. "Agree with you there, mate." The ginger yawned again, much like a lion would, with his head tilted up and teeth exposed. "Anyways, let's discuss this tomorrow. I'm beat."

"Sounds good, Ron," Harry replied, cooling down a little. "Good night, Hermione. See you in the morning."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hope you enjoyed that! Credits to the respective owners of _Naruto_ and _Harry Potter_.


	2. Shinobi Rules

**Chapter Two:** _Shinobi Rules_

* * *

For the first few weeks, Hinata stayed in her room, avoiding contact with the other Hogwarts' inhabitants. It wasn't that hard, to be honest. During the occasional stroll through the castle on her way to Dumbledore's office, many of the students gave her a wide berth as she passed by.

She knew that they were afraid of her and that depressed her greatly. Admittedly, she was not like any of them, but they had passed judgement even before getting to know her. Is this how Naruto was treated in their younger days? she thought. Her heart ached as she thought of the difficult times he had endured all alone.

Still, Hinata could not deny her feelings. Despite her quiet disposition, Hinata did prefer the company of others over solitude. Her mission was due to end after June, at the very latest, and she wasn't quite ready to spend all those months by herself.

But it was for the best that she did not have any friends at Hogwarts. If she were to succeed her mission, she would have to do it with a closed heart and definite resolve. There was no use in talking to anyone besides Dumbledore in this foreign land.

* * *

A month after the ninja's arrival, Harry began to doubt Hermione's suspicions that she was sent to Hogwarts to be his bodyguard.

"I mean, I hardly see her around the castle, so how can she be guarding me if I'm not within her vicinity?" Harry asked his two best friends. The three of them were the only ones in the boys' room, so he was able to speak freely. "Maybe her mission isn't to protect me."

"I dunno, mate," Ron began with a frown. "Yeah you can't see her, but that doesn't mean that she can't see you. She's a ninja for Merlin's sake! I hear that they have methods of going unnoticed… What do you think, Hermione?"

She took a while to respond, lightly biting her thumb nail as she thought. The school's resident ninja was indeed a mystery, especially since she kept to herself most of the time. And since she had only briefly read about ninjas in books picked up at Muggle libraries, she had barely knew anything about Hinata's profession, only that they would kill for money and even betray one another.

"Well, I think Ron is right, Harry," the witch said, hesitating. "I can't see why else Dumbledore would hire her. And from the rumors going around in the castle, she does nothing to indicate that she was brought here for other reasons."

Hermione continued with her train of thought. "Well, if we really want to know why she's here, the first thing we need to do is write down what we know about her," she said, matter-of-factly.

She took out a sheet of parchment and her quill and ink set. On the top of the page, she wrote "Facts about Hinata Hyuuga" and stylishly underlined the title.

After a good twenty minutes of hard thinking among the three friends, the sixteen-year-old had written down:

**Ninja (Also wizard? Can't enter Hogwarts if muggle, according to H: AH…)**

**Quiet, private (Eats at the Great Hall occasionally. Always seated near Dumbledore. Rarely makes conversation. Is she plotting something?)**

**Around our age? 16-18**

**Looks blind but isn't (Is this important?)**

**Hired by Dumbledore (as guard for Harry?)**

**Feared, even by Gryffindors and Slytherins**

**Usually not seen around the castle **

**Girl** (_"Genius, Ron, absolutely genius"_)

**Polite but could be a ruse, is ninja after all**

**Foreigner, Asian descent, uses translation spell?**

The three examined the list carefully. It was a pitiful list, they all thought. None of the details Hermione had written down were noteworthy, except for the first, and even then only Hermione was interested in the implications. These were painfully obvious observations and unanswered questions, and they realized they knew nothing about Hinata.

"I know what we can do, Harry!" Ron exclaimed suddenly. He walked over to the end of Harry's bed and rummaged through his friend's trunk, taking out the Invisibility Cloak and Marauder's Map. "We haven't touched these yet since we came back from break, and there isn't a better time than now to use them, don't you think?"

Ron tossed the map over to Harry but decided to wear the Cloak. After a few seconds of fumbling around, only the ginger's head showed. Ron gave a great big grin. It was a comical sight.

Harry grinned back. "Brilliant idea, Ron! We can track her movements like this since nobody can go undetected from the map. And since it's late, we can find out where she lives since she's probably in her room right now."

He reached for his wand on his dresser and placed the tip on the map. With a simple "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," ink slowly appeared and the title _"The Marauder's Map_" revealed itself. Harry slowly opened up the map, careful not to add more tears to the already worn-out paper.

It took a while for the three to find the words _Hinata Hyuuga_ but after flipping through many pages, they found her name near a crowd of other names.

Hermione pointed at the overlapping words, and leaned in closer, trying to make out some of the names. "Hannah Abott, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Zacharias Smith…," she muttered. "Why, these are all Hufflepuffs! This area must be their Common Room, so Hinata could be living next to the Hufflepuff Basement."

"Wait a minute, that's also where the kitchens are, and I'm starving!" Ron declared. His stomach gave a tiny rumble, as if to prove his point. He pointed at the kitchens on the map. "We should go down to the basement, get some food from the House Elves and check out the area."

"How in the world can you be hungry? Dinner was just three hours ago," Hermione said disapprovingly.

Ron stood up-or it seemed like he did, as his head rose a couple of feet-ready to make a declaration. "I am a growing boy. I need food every hour so I can become big and strong in order to save damsels in distress and to fight off evil brothers and Voldemort and whatnot," the wizard said dramatically.

Harry laughed at his funny commentary. That was Ron for you, he thought.

Their female companion, on the other hand, believed otherwise. "You can't joke about Voldemort like that," she scolded.

"Leave him alone, Hermione," Harry defended. "It's like a boggart. You need laughter to get rid of them, right? Every situation needs a little bit of good humor, even when it comes to Voldemort."

He turned to his best friend. "Anyway, we've grown to the point that we can't share the cloak anymore, so why don't you go to the kitchens by yourself Ron?"

"Wait, go down there by myself? Who knows what she will do to me if she finds me? Don't you know Harry? Ninjas are deadly!" Ron blurted.

Harry shook his head. "Don't worry mate. You'll be fine under the Cloak. There's no way she can see through it. She doesn't have a magical eye like Mad-Eye does. Plus, I still have to write that DADA essay for Snape, so I should get started soon. No kitchens for me this time."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I barely started that thing." Ron made a face, a bit calmer after hearing Harry's comforting words. There was no need to doubt the Invisibility Cloak. "This is the plan: figure out if Hinata's room really is next to the Hufflepuff's Common Room, get food, come back and write that bloody essay."

Harry nodded and said, "Sounds good, mate. Bring back something for me too if you can. Oh, and don't forget to take this." He handed the map back to Ron and a hand appeared out of the Cloak to grab it.

* * *

Ron didn't know what stealth was even if it slapped him in the face and punched him in the gut. When the three of them were younger, it was an absolute terror walking under the Cloak with Ron. He never managed to stop stepping on Harry or Hermione's feet.

Now, at sixteen and alone under the Cloak, he was still having trouble navigating through narrow corridors and hallways. He clumsily dodged oncoming students who were still roaming about the castle before curfew and plastered himself against the wall, whenever need be.

"Finally," he whispered when he reached the room in question. It took the Weasley twenty minutes to walk from the seventh floor down to the Basement. Figuring out the path of the moving staircases was indeed tricky business.

He pulled out the map and squinted at the words, but he had trouble making anything out at all. It was dimly lit in the hallway, but under the Cloak, little light penetrated through the fabric. Silently cursing under his breath, he fumbled around for his wand and whispered a "Lumos" and pointed it at the map.

Now able to see with troubles, Ron quickly scanned the paper for the words _Hinata Hyuuga_ and found them and his own name but a centimeter away. "Hermione was right. This must be her room then, since she hasn't moved in the past half hour," he muttered under his breath. "Ah well, location confirmed. Time for the kitchens!"

But before he could move a single step, the door to HInata's room suddenly opened. Ron froze. Thankfully he was out of range for the door to bump into him.

He saw her poke her head through the opening. "Um, is someone there?" Hinata called out softly.

As long as he didn't make a sound, she wouldn't notice him. And the moment she closed the door, he was going to get the hell out of there, he thought, afraid of being caught. How in the world did she even notice someone outside her room in the first place? He was only muttering to himself!

Ron watched as Hinata opened the door even further and she stepped outside. "I know you're here," she said confidently. She scanned the hallway and then frowned. It was a good thing he was invisible or else he would've been found out for sure.

Hinata put her hands together and rapidly made some strange signs, all the while saying things like "boar" and "hare" and "dog." It confused Ron greatly, and if he wasn't in his current position, he would have chuckled at the sight. That being said, he was holding his breath in anticipation, watching her actions.

"Byakugan!"

Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and Ron could visibly see the veins around her eyes popping out. It was quite disturbing.

He froze even more, if that was possible. She was staring straight at him! He knew, right away that she saw him. Even though she did not have irises, he was in her line of vision. He had been found.

Ron shut his eyes in fear, afraid that she would attack him. There was no knowing what the ninja would do.

He felt the cloak slide right off of him. Eyes still closed, he waited for her next move.

"Um…excuse me, but what are you doing here?" Hinata asked. No one usually came around to this part of the castle, unless it was Dumbledore. Most of the students were not aware that she was residing here, even though the dormitories for one of the houses was just on the other side of the hallway from her.

He tried not to show his panic by calmly reopening his eyes. Or at least he hoped it seemed like that.

He forced out a chuckle. "Ehehe…I got lost?"

She frowned and craned her head a little. "But that looks like a map." But before she could see clearly what the ink markings were, Ron swiftly pressed the parchment against his chest.

"No! No no no not a map. Excuse me for a second." He hastily turned around, extinguished the light emitting from his wand and pointed at the map. "Mischief managed," he muttered. Not wasting anytime, he stuffed the Marauder's Map back into his pocket. After a quick second of thought, he also put his wand away, so as not to appear hostile in front of the ninja. She didn't seem angry now, but maybe it was just a ruse. Ron did not want to send Hinata the wrong message.

He turned around to meet Hinata's expectant gaze. Her stare is really unnerving, he thought. However, he met her scrutiny head on, his Gryffindor courage suddenly fueling him on.

"Why are you here?" she asked him again. Her tone was surprisingly gentle but firm enough for him to answer right away.

"I was on my way to the kitchens, and I saw this hallway. I got curious, I guess." Well, it was kind of true.

The female knit her brows but accepted his response. She closed her eyes, mumbled something under her breath, and the veins disappeared. When she reopened them, Ron visibly relaxed. For some reason, he did not feel like he was under any pressure anymore.

Ron eyed the Invisibility Cloak in her hand. "May I have that back please?"

Hinata glanced at the fabric and silently returned it to the wizard. He folded it as small as possible and shoved into what little space he had left in his crammed pockets.

"What's your name?"

"Ron. Ron Weasley."

"Well you probably already know, but I'm Hinata Hyuuga. It's nice to meet you Weasley-san," she said with a soft smile. "You said you were heading to the kitchens? I've been living in this area for a month already but I've never seen the kitchens in this area before. You might really be lost."

Ron played along, no longer afraid now that she wasn't staring at her as if she were a wolf and he was a giant piece of meat. "Uh, yeah! Lost," he repeated. "Do you happen to know where this giant painting of a bowl of fruit is?"

Of course he knew where the picture was. Ever since Hermione found out where the food actually came from (not to mention how), he and Harry had been sneaking down to the basement at least twice a month, if not more. Nearly all the house-elves knew their names by now.

"Sure, I pass by it all the time," Hinata said, breaking Ron out of his reverie. "I'm a little curious as to where the kitchens are, to be honest. What does the painting have to do with where you want to go?"

"Um, I'll show you. So where did you say it was?" he asked meekly, knowing she hadn't said anything about the location at all.

He followed the ninja out into the main hallway. Walking through familiar passages, they reached their destination within a couple of minutes. She really did live close to the kitchens, he thought.

Ron paused, making sure that no one was near. He chuckled nervously after seeing Hinata's curious face. "We're not really supposed to know about this place. But my brother told me that all you have to do is tickle the pear and it will turn into a doorknob," he said, still pretending that this was the first time he had been here. "Sounds strange, don't you think?"

She laughed quietly and nodded. To Ron, that sound was like bells ringing together. Not those large, obnoxious ones, but those tiny, silver ones that would hang on Christmas trees. He was quite enamored by that delicate laughter.

This ninja was not what he was expecting. He had grown up believing that ninjas were bloodthirsty, money-hungry, backstabbing monster, who would have attacked him when she found him outside her room. Instead, right in front of him was this pretty young girl who was nothing like what he imagined.

A bit embarrassed as his face turned red, he moved to tickle the pear. It started to squirm and laugh, a noise completely opposite from Hinata's, and transformed into a knob as expected. He pulled open the door and motioned for Hinata to follow him. "Quickly, before any sees."

The house-elves ambushed the two guests. "It's Harry Potter's friend! Mister Wheezy, welcome back!" one of them said.

Ron grinned nervously at Hinata, scratching the back of his head as more elves crowded around them, but groaned inwardly. He should have expected that they would shout out his name. He was so used to it that he forgot about it while lying to Hinata.

Many of the surrounding elves were carrying trays of food while the others were patiently waiting for Ron to voice his requests.

"You said you were lost?" she questioned, chuckling.

"Hehe…" Turning red, the ginger-head broke away from her gaze and kneeled down to face the elf who spoke. "Hello Dobby. It's Weasley, not Wheezy," he stressed.

"Yes, yes, Mister Wheezy! Where is Harry Potter? And who is your friend? Would she like something to eat too?"

Well at least he tried. There was no way Dobby would stop calling him Wheezy instead of Weasley.

"Harry is busy so he couldn't come. And this," he thumbed at his companion, "is Hinata. I'm not sure if she's hungry though. But I'm starved. Do you guys have any chicken left over from dinner?"

He couldn't help it. His scare from earlier, having been discovered by Hinata, had taken away a lot of energy. He may have been starving to begin with, but now he was ravenous.

Before Dobby could reply, some of the house-elves started scrambling about. "Chicken! Where is the chicken? Mister Weasley said he wanted chicken!" they shouted.

At least some of the other elves were better about pronouncing his last name.

Another elf approached Hinata and tugged on her pants. She looked down at the large-eyed, bat-like-eared, wrinkly-skinned creature. "Miss, would you like anything to eat?" she inquired politely.

"Um, do you have any cinnamon rolls? Those are my favorite."

Again some of the house-elves started running around the kitchen clamoring about the cinnamon rolls, as Hinata watched in amusement. Ron was used to this behavior and ignored it in favor of attacking the platter of chicken legs. He had already finished devouring half of the chicken.

Thanking the house-elves for their service and bowing to them, she made her way to Ron and sat next to him. "Did you see that? Miss bowed to Moxie! She did, she did!" Ron heard one of them exclaim.

"Weasley-san, thank you for showing me this place," she said, nibbling the roll. "I'll be sure to come by from time to time since I live nearby. Maybe we'll bump into each other. It seems like you come here often enough. You probably won't be needing my help next time," the Hyuuga joked.

Hearing those teasing words, the teen choked on a piece of chicken and forced it down his throat, coughing all the while.

Hinata quickly moved to his side. "Are you alright?" she exclaimed worriedly.

He hit his chest a few times and gave a few more coughs before replying, "F..f-fine, just fine. Thank you. Sorry about that. Just surprised me."

"Surprised? How?"

Ron ducked his head, a little embarrassed of what he was about to say. "You're just not what I was expecting. So...friendly," he replied. "Many people are a little afraid of you since, you know, you're a ninja."

For a few moments, neither said a word. He looked up again and saw not the happy Hinata from a few minutes ago but a depressed Hinata chewing at her cinnamon roll sadly and slowly.

Guilty for causing this silence, he stammered loudly, "But, if people get to meet the real you, no one will be afraid to approach you! Despite only knowing you for, what, twenty minutes, I know you're not like what people believe you to be!"

Hinata giggled. "You remind me of someone, Weasley-san. He's a close friend of mine back at home. Very loud but very kind."

"Oh. Thank you?" He did not know what to say in regards to that comparison, but he was glad she cheered up again. He decided to focus on another thing she mentioned. "Speaking of home, do you miss it? Where are you from even?"

"Ah, I cannot tell you where I am from because it is a secret, but yes, I miss it greatly. I…I have not made any friends here yet, whereas I have many back at home. They send me letters here from time to time but still, it really is not enough," she sighed.

Saddened by her loneliness, Ron impulsively declared, "I'll be your first friend here, Hinata! And I can introduce you to all my other friends. You'll be a part of us in no time!"

Blown away by his kindness, she stuttered, hesitating, "Th-th-thank you, Weasley-san. It means a lot to me."

"No worries and no need to call me by my last name. We're friends now! Call me Ron," he insisted.

"Alright Ron-kun," she smiled happily.

For the next few minutes, they chattered about harmless topics, as they both continued to eat. He explained to her how the food for every meal was prepared by the house-elves and that's why they appeared magically on the tables. She, in turn, listened carefully and hmm-ed and nodded in all the right spots.

"Well, I have to go now, Hinata. Need to write an essay, but let's meet up tomorrow so I can introduce you to my friends, Harry and Hermione."

"Harry?" she asked. "Harry Potter?"

"Yeah, you've heard of him? Well of course you have, everybody has," he said. Worried that his tone was a bit bitter, he rushed on to correct himself. "Harry's my best bud. He's a blast. You'll like him, don't worry. And Hermione too. People say she's the smartest witch our age. Can get quite annoying though…but don't tell her I said that!"

Hinata's eyes twinkled and she made a zipping motion at her mouth. "Not. A. Word."

He chuckled at her actions. "Alright I really need to go back now. I'll see you later Hinata! Bye Dobby and thanks everyone for the food. I'll come by with Harry next time." He paused suddenly, remembering Harry's request. "Oh yeah, can't forget that." He reached out to get a cinnamon bun from Hinata's tray and wrapped it in a napkin.

He waved once again to everyone before stepping quietly outside. Making sure that no one was about, he shut the painting door and quickly took out the Invisibility Cloak.

Ron hurried back to the Gryffindor dormitory, excited to tell Harry and Hermione this turn of events. And maybe, eventually, they'll be good enough friends to find out more about Hinata and why she really was at Hogwarts.

* * *

The moment Ron left, Hinata dropped her facade, revealing her saddened look.

Her meeting with Ron was unexpected but it filled her with happiness. She was definitely surprised to have heard someone outside her room door, but she was glad that she checked it out instead of leaving it alone.

Chatting with Ron was like talking to Naruto, whom she missed greatly, along with all her other friends. It reminded her of home and she was grateful for this chance encounter.

But thinking back to her mission, she also regretted agreeing to Ron's friendship. Why did she do it? It was selfish of her. She craved companionship, knowing that these months would have been impossible without it, but this would prove disastrous in the end for both her and the Hogwarts' students.

She may have lost herself in these moments, forgetting her mission objective, but the next time she saw Ron, she would politely refuse his offer to meet his friends and cut off her ties with the wizard. It would be easy since they had only known each other for less than half an hour.

One thing he mentioned confirmed what she had already known. The people here were afraid of her. That was good. She would capitalize on that fear to ensure her solitude. If people kept to their preconceptions, she would have no problem avoiding them.

Hinata would concentrate on the mission and not on her emotions, as that was the only thing that was important. After all, shinobi rule number four stated "A shinobi must always put the mission first" while number twenty-five ruled read "A shinobi must never show emotion."

Surrounded by the bustling house-elves, Hinata continued to nibble on her cinnamon bun. The sweetness of the snack did not match the bitterness of her heart.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Holy hell that was quite the jump from a 1500 words for chapter one to 4000 words for chapter two. I hope you guys are happy! I was debating cutting it in the middle for consistency in word lengths but decided against it because things fit better like this.

I want to add that most of the_ Harry Potter_ information in this story are, hopefully, accurate to the books. I've been pulling these facts off of the wikia site, such as Dobby calling Ron "Wheezy" and that the Hufflepuff Common Room and the kitchens are both in the basement.

Anyways, I hope she's not out of character. I'm trying to keep her quiet and respectful but I guess she has a bit of a humorous side. Must be Naruto's influence, eh?

Big thank you to **Blinded in a bolthole, HinatamaniacXD, GlitterVan, SaturnXK, Mon Esprit Libre, Reaper of the Rebels, 0-WickedMelody-0, miaandb, **and **Yanirca** for reviewing. Also, thank you everyone else for favoriting and following this story. It means a lot to have your support. **  
**

Standard disclaimer applies.


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